Cold
by Call-Me-KrazyPerson
Summary: Joey finds that he has feelings for Yami and suddenly kisses him. This upsets Yami for more reasons than one and he runs of into a steadily forming blizzard. Something terrible has happened to the boy and Joey wants to find out what. Dragonshipping.
1. Chapter 1

"Alright! I actually won!" Joey shouted gleefully as his monster attacked Yami directly and brought his Life Points down to zero. The two boys were in Yugi's bedroom. Joey had come over earlier and they had played several games of Duel Monsters. By some miracle Joey had beat the King of Games.

"So it would seem…." Yami said, trying to hold back his frustration at losing. He never lost, it was unheard of.

"Wow, it's so amazing! I won!" Joey was still squealing happily. He wrapped an arm around Yami's small shoulders. "Ya think this means I'm a good duelist?"

"Joey, I never said that you were not…" Yami felt uncomfortable at how close Joey was to him and tried to move away from his arm.

Joey wasn't taking the hint at all and moved even closer. He hadn't realized how good Yami smelt until he got this close; in fact, it was the closest he'd ever gotten to the smaller boy. Yami had an aloof sort of personality that made people keep their distance from him. He leaned in closer, not realizing that he had pinned his friend down on the bed until he said something.

"Um, Joey?" Yami was getting very uncomfortable with the close contact now. It was just too intimate, and it reminded him too much of- "Joey, get off me, now," Yami commanded.

Joey still wasn't listening; he seemed to be lost in his own little world. Then he did something completely unexpected; he leaned down even closer, and gave Yami a kiss directly on the lips. Yami's body went ridged in shock, his violet eyes widening. He abruptly pushed up hard with both hands, throwing the larger boy off him. Then he was out the door. Joey could hear him run down the stairs and the door slam as he ran outside of the Kame Game Shop.

"Wait, Yami, stop, I didn-" but he was already out of earshot. Joey stood up, looking out the window. It was then that he saw that Yami had run outside with no coat, a sleeveless shirt, and stocking feet.

He didn't know why he had suddenly done that. It was just that, when he got that close to the boy, he saw just how beautiful he was and his body reacted without asking his brain first. And now Yami had gone and ran off. "Oh shit, it's supposed to get really cold tonight and snow too." The blonde put on his coat and followed the spiky-haired youth outside.

It was just starting to snow, great fluffy white flakes drifting silently down to alight on the frozen ground of Domino City. The snow helped Joey in tracking Yami as it made his small sock footprints show up on the ground. But just as quickly it was covering them up as more snow fell. A wind kicked up as well and blew the white crystals everywhere. Joey was soon lost, he had no idea which way his friend had gone, or where he himself was. This was all his fault, if he hadn't have been stupid enough to kiss the boy, he wouldn't have been upset enough to run away into what was now steadily turning into a blizzard.

A bark rang out through the swirling white maze of snow and the form of a man and a dog appeared. Joey had to squint, but he soon made the forms out to be his friend Tristan and his dog, Blankey. "What are you doing out here in a blizzard, Joey?"

"I coulds ask you the same thing," Joey shot back at him. He patted Blankey on the head and she wagged her tail and nosed his pocket, looking for treats. "Sorry, girl, I don't have any."

"I was taking Blankey on a walk before it started snowing. I was hoping to get back before it started, but I didn't." The brunet tugged on his dog's leash to keep her from sniffing Joey.

"Well, I'm looking for Yami, he ran off." He didn't explain at all about why he had run off. How would Tristan react if he knew?

"Well, I can help you find him. Blankey might even be able to sniff him out." He started in a random direction, both of them where lost. "Why'd he run off anyway?"

Joey scratched the back of his head. "He um, was upset. Woulds you believe that I actually beat him in a game of Duel Monsters?" Better to say that then what had really upset him.

"Uh, seriously, you beat Yami at a game?" It really was hard to believe.

"Yup!" Joey said proudly, momentarily forgetting what had happened afterwards. He found himself wanting to kiss him again, and more, but it was obvious that the other boy wanted nothing to do with him.

The two friends wandered the dark, snowy streets of Domino fruitlessly. They happened to go by Téa's house and she somehow spotted them out the window and went outside. "Hi, guys, what are you doing out in this weather?" She was wearing a fluffy pink coat yet was still wearing her school uniform so her legs were bare; not the smartest thing to do in a snow storm.

"Looking for Yami, he's apparently upset about losing a game to this numbskull here," Tristan explained, pointing at Joey.

"Hey!" Joey complained.

Téa joined them and they continued the search. But no matter where they looked there was no sign of their friend. Joey was getting really worried now. It was no more than 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.7 degrees Celsius) out and steadily dropping in temperature. And Yami had no coat, and exposed skin. He'd freeze to death if they didn't find him soon.

"Hey, guys, it's getting late. You two go on home, I'll look for him on my own." It was his fault that this had happened; it was his responsibility to find Yami.

"You sure, Joey?" Téa didn't want to admit it, but with her exposed legs she was freezing.

"Yeah, just leave it to me. I'll find him, I promise."

"Well, okay. See you at school tomorrow." Reluctantly, his two friends and the dog left him and he was on his own to find Yami. He wondered aimlessly for some time until he came to the not-so-nice part of town, which was the part of town that the apartment he shared with his dad was. In fact, he was only a few blocks from his home. He was almost tempted to go there, to warm up. But no way was he going to leave Yami out here to freeze to death.

By pure luck he happened to look down an alley and spotted a small form curled up in a ball by some trash cans. He was wary to come closer, it might just be a homeless person waiting to rob him, but he did anyway. Sure enough, it was Yami, curled up in a tight ball, absolutely still. He was hugging himself tightly so it was obvious that he had been shivering, but now he wasn't. He was deathly still, pale as a sheet.

"Yami!" Joey ran over, plopping down on his knees, and pulled the boy to his chest. He quickly checked to see if he was still alive and breathed a sigh of relief when he found that he was. His breathing and heartbeat were faint, but still there.

Joey pulled his own coat off and wrapped it around Yami, zipping it up and tying the sleeves around his tiny form, keeping his bare arms tucked inside. Then he picked him up gently in his arms and walked as fast as he could, without risking tripping and dropping him to his apartment.

Once inside he silently crept past his father, who was zonked out on the couch, empty beer cans thrown all over the floor and one in his hand. He was indecisive about what to do next. He of course needed to warm Yami up, but which was the fastest way. He was now standing outside the bathroom. Of course, a hot bath would warm him up real fast.

He went inside and shut the door behind him, setting Yami on the floor while he started the water running. While the tub was filling he took Yami's clothes off. Once he had his shirt off, he stopped and stared. He was just so pale. He wanted to…he ran both his hands over his smooth skin, marveling at it. No, no he shouldn't. He pulled back, blushing. When he finally got the courage up he unbuckled the small boy's belt and pulled that off along with his jeans.

He tried not to look, but he couldn't help it. But what caught his attention first were the dark marks on both of Yami's thighs. He blinked, not quite sure what to make of them. Were they a rash? He touched them and as he poked around he realized that they were in fact bruises, and they looked like they had been caused by a large pair of hands as they were in that shape.

What could have happened here? Curiosity got the better of him and he pulled off Yami's briefs, tossing them to land with his other clothes. His hips also had bruises on them. He carefully flipped him over and found them on his behind as well. This didn't look good at all. He couldn't think that it was possible to accidently get bruises like this. Someone must have done this to him.

Joey clenched his fists, his anger stirred at whoever would do this. But this wasn't the time for that; he needed to get Yami warmed up. He picked him up gingerly, trying not to touch him anywhere too intimate, and set him in the hot bath water.

Yami's reaction was almost instant. He let out a cry and shot straight upward from the sudden shock of the hot water when he had been so cold. Joey caught him before he hurt himself. "Whoa there."

Yami blinked, now fully awake; he looked around the room, a very confused expression on his face. "What?" was all he managed to squeak out, his voice cracking. He looked down at Joey's hands that were touching him, and at the water in the tub. "Put me down." This time his voice was more authoritative, but he still sounded tired and out of sorts.

Joey did as he was told, slipping him into the hot water. Yami let out a small gasp at the temperature change, but soon relaxed and went limp, finally warming up. He was still and silent for a time, eyes closed. "What…happened?" He didn't recall anything that had happened after he had lied down, thinking that he'd die there in the blizzard; frozen to death.

His eyes snapped open, watching Joey. Joey was staring back; he hadn't taken his eyes off of Yami this whole time. Joey blushed and looked away. "You were freezing, so I took you home and put you in a bath." That much was obvious. What Yami really wanted to know was what he had done to him while he was naked and unconscious, completely vulnerable. It was apparent that he had seen the bruises; there was no way he hadn't.

"I'll um, get you a towel." Even though there was one hanging there right on the wall, Joey couldn't stand how awkward this was getting and had to get out of there. He came back a few minutes later with one in hand, slightly calmer. He was itching to ask about the bruises, but it was just so…embarrassing. He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Yami was warmed up now, his skin turned a red hue from the heat. Joey helped him out of the tub, despite his protests that he could do it himself. Joey could see that he was still quite weak after his ordeal, but was too proud to admit it.

Joey led him to his room then left him there to go get his clothes from the bathroom floor. He didn't want to have to explain to his dad why they were there. When he came back, plopping the pile of clothing and the Millennium Puzzle down on his desk, he saw that Yami had rid himself of the towel and crawled into his bed, curled up in a tight ball with the blankets pulled up around his slight shoulders, fast asleep already.

Joey stood awkwardly in his room, the cold air finally getting the better of him so that he changed into his night wear and crawled in next to Yami. The smaller boy stirred at his arrival but didn't wake up. Joey's heart started to race when Yami, still asleep, snuggled up to his chest, seeking warmth. He had to use every ounce of self-control in him to keep from taking advantage of him then and there. He was asleep; he had no idea what he was doing. Plus, he had rejected him earlier, so why would it be any different now? He kicked himself for being stupid enough to let himself fall for his best friend.

But with Yami this close…it was only natural to wrap his arms around him, keeping him warm and safe. Joey placed his hands on the small of the shorter boy's back, only now realizing that he was still naked. He blushed, forcing down his urges. He had to get a hold of himself.


	2. Chapter 2

When Joey woke up he found that Yami had moved to the opposite side of the bed during the night, as far as he could without being up against the cold wall. He must have gotten up during the night and moved, or he may have just done it in his sleep.

They both got ready for school. Yami didn't have his school uniform with him so Joey let him use his spare for the day. It was much too big, but it was at least a uniform, and a uniform was mandatory at their school. On the walk to Domino High School Yami didn't say anything, in fact he hadn't talked all morning, or much at all for the last few weeks. Joey had just assumed that it was because he was deep in thought about something. But now he wasn't so sure. Those bruises…

Once they got to school Joey saw that Yugi had taken his body back. He hadn't noticed before because he was so deep in thought himself. Maybe Yugi knew what was going on, it would make sense, them having the same body and all. But he had to remember that they were not the same person and had different feelings. He thought they shared everything…but sometimes he wasn't so sure.

He was going to ask Yugi right away, but got caught up in the day's activities and never got around to it. Soon they were in their last class of the day, which was Biology. Once class was over Joey made his way to where Yugi was sitting, planning to get him by himself and talk to him about the bruises that Yami had. But their Biology teacher, Mr. Hisoka, got there first. "Mr. Moto, could I have a word with you, in private?"

Joey lingered by the door, but the teacher shooed him out. What did he want to talk to Yugi about? Maybe he had done really badly on that last test they had and he wanted to tutor him or something. Joey shrugged; it wasn't really any of his business. He got bored waiting outside the classroom door so he went outside to the courtyard to wait, tracing patterns in the snow absently.

About twenty minutes passed and Yugi came back out. Joey saw that it was actually Yami; he had switched with Yugi sometime while in there. "Teach yell at ya for something?" He blinked. Yami wasn't acting right; he was swaying on his feet, unable to walk in a straight path.

Yami didn't answer, but stumbled and nearly fell over. Joey lunged to catch him and did before he hit the cold ground. "What happened? What's wrong?" Was he still weak from almost freezing last night…or…? "What did he do to you?!" Joey automatically jumped to the conclusion that Mr. Hisoka had done this.

Yami still didn't answer, his head was down and eyes adverted. He had gone limp, and Joey had to tighten his grip to keep him from falling. "That bastard," Joey breathed, picking Yami up bridle style and carrying him inside the school. He'd confront Mr. Hisoka and find out what was going on.

Joey found him in the Biology classroom, packing up and just about to leave. He set Yami down on the floor, resting his head on one of the desks. He marched up to the teacher, catching him by surprise. "What the hell did you do to my friend?!" He grabbed the front of the man's shirt, forcing him backwards until he was backed against the wall.

"What are you talking about?" The man asked, fear in his eyes. Joey was taller and stronger than he.

"Just look at him!" Joey exclaimed, pointing at the still, limp form of his friend. "He wasn't like this before he was in here alone with you. It's obvious that you did something to him, you sick bastard."

"I didn't do anything, Mr. Wheeler. Now would you kindly let me go home?" He tried to squirm out of Joey's grasp but he didn't loosen his grip.

"Not until you tell me what you did to my friend!" He raised a fist to strike the man but thought better of it and lowered it. If he struck a teacher he'd be in big trouble. Even what he was doing now was pushing it. He had no proof that he had done anything either. Reluctantly he let Mr. Hisoka go. Mr. Hisoka grabbed his things and promptly left the classroom.

Joey picked the still lethargic Yami up and took him back to his house at the Kame Game Shop. He went upstairs and set the boy on his bed. He wasn't sure what to do now. He was pretty sure that whatever was going on was their teacher's fault. By he wouldn't confess, and Yami wouldn't talk either.

He let out a frustrated sigh, deciding to take more drastic measures. "Yami," he said, coming over to the bed and putting his hands on the spikey-haired boy's shoulders, "Tell me what happened." He shook him slightly when he didn't get an answer. He shook him harder, getting more violent. Finally he picked Yami up and dropped him back down on the bed, hoping to shock him out of the daze he was in.

He saw a flash of light and came closer to investigate. Joey found himself staring into the confused, and slightly frightened, eyes of Yugi. Yami had gone inside of the Puzzle. "Um, Joey, what's going on?" Yugi asked, pulling back from his close proximity with the blonde.

"That's whats I'd like to know!"

"The last thing I remember is Mr. Hisoka asking to see me after class. Yami blocked me out after that. Do you know what happened?"

Joey ran a hand through his hair, still frustrated. "Can't say I know much more than you, Yug. All I know is that when you, well Yami, came out of that room he was acting all strange; he looked like he was in shock and pain. I tried to gets our teach to spill the beans but he didn't." So both of them didn't know what was going one. Joey was hoping that maybe Yami had told Yugi, but it was apparent that he hadn't.

A shadow crossed Yugi's face. "Speaking of pain…" He cringed.

"Sorry, did I hurt you back there? I was trying to snap Yami out of it…and kinda threw him on the bed." Joey rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He probably shouldn't have done that.

"You what? Oh, no, it's not that…." He disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes.

Joey paced back and forth across Yugi's bedroom floor while he was gone. When Yugi came back he was quiet and his face was pale, a pained expression on his face. "Joey…I…"

"What? What's wrong?" Joey came over to his little friend. When Yugi didn't reply he placed his hands on his shoulders. "You can tell me."

Yugi's head was down; he didn't want to look Joey in the eye. "I…I don't know how to…"

"Just spit it out, man!" Joey shook Yugi's shoulders a little, careful not to do it too hard.

"I've been raped, Joey."

There was a deathly silence in the room after that statement. Finally, Joey spoke. "You sure? How can you tell?"

"Well, my ass-"

Joey put a hand up to stop him from going into details. "Okay, I get it. But, why didn't Yami…"

Yugi sat down on the bed, cringing from the action. "I don't think this is the first time either. Last week Yami locked me away in the Puzzle for a couple days. That's when those bruises showed up on my legs. I tried to get him to tell me, but he wouldn't."

"Did Mr. Hisoka call you after class that time too?" If he had all of this was coming together. Mr. Hisoka had tried to molest Yugi but Yami had stepped in to protect him and hadn't told him what had happened; also to try to protect him. He had kept Yugi locked up in the Puzzle to give their body time to heal.

"I don't remember…I think maybe. Oooh, why won't Yami tell me?" Yugi put his face in his hands and started to cry.

Joey stood next to him, not knowing what to do. Their teacher had raped his friend. There was no way that he'd let him get away with that unpunished. "Yugi, I'll get that bastard for what he did."

"But, Joey, he's a teacher. What can we do? Even if we tell anyone they won't believe us. They'll think we just don't like him and are trying to get rid of him." And he didn't say it out loud, but he was also thinking that because he was a boy no one would believe it and just make fun of him for getting himself raped.

"We'll make them believe! You have the proof on you right now." Joey's one-track determination was making itself very evident right now.

"You mean…" Yugi blushed.

"Yes, we can get you examined; they'll have to believe you."

"But, that still doesn't prove that Mr. Hisoka did it. Even though we are both pretty sure he did." Yugi was giving up hope. If Yami wouldn't even talk to him what was he to do?

"We'll get proof."


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days Yugi and Joey stuck to each other like glue, neither of them letting the other out of his sight for long. Nothing happened until one day after Biology class. As he had been doing of late, Mr. Hisoka asked to see Yugi after class. Yugi came, not because he wanted to, he didn't want to at all, but because he was determined to get to the bottom of this mess. And if that meant using himself as bait, he'd do it.

Joey made sure he wasn't seen then waited outside the door, ear pressed to it, waiting for Yugi to cry out. For a while all he heard was the two of them actually talking about Biology things. But then it got quiet. Joey heard the sound of a scuffle and Yugi saying "No, stop." He wanted so badly to burst in there right now, but found himself holding back just a little longer.

Yugi let out a scream and Joey yanked the door open to find Yugi being held down on his stomach on the teacher's desk, his trousers and underwear down at his knees, Mr. Hisoka hovering over him. "You damn bastard!" Joey shouted. There, now they had irrefutable proof that he had done it. He charged over to the stunned man who was quickly zipping his pants back up.

"How dare you?!" Joey roared, punching his teacher in the jaw, sending him flying to the floor. He went to Yugi, who had put his clothes back on but was still shaking. "Are you okay? He didn't…"

"I'm fine, Joey, you stopped him just in time." He was crying, tears running down his youthful face.

"He'll never do that again," Joey promised, pulling the small boy into a hug. "I'll make sure of that."

Yugi sobbed, burying his face in Joey's shirt. "But Yami, he's still shook up more than me. He-" Yugi's eyes grew wide. "Joey! Behind you!"

But the warning was too late. Before Joey could react Mr. Hisoka came up behind him and stabbed a knife into his right shoulder. The blade was twisted and Joey let out a strangled cry before falling to his knees. "Ahh, oh my god…" Joey clutched at his shoulder, trying to slow the flow of blood gushing from it.

Mr. Hisoka stood over the bleeding blonde, his knife raised for another slash. "It's not your turn to talk, Mr. Wheeler, you have to raise your hand first if you know the answer."

"No stop! Leave him alone!" Yugi stood in front of his friend, who had slumped to the floor and was softly moaning in pain.

"Mr. Wheeler interrupted. He must be punished." It was pretty obvious this man was not thinking straight right now. Now that Yugi stopped and paid attention he caught the scent of something foreign on his teacher. He took a moment to breathe it in. It was some kind of alcohol, whiskey he thought. The only reason he knew was because he'd been over at Joey's apartment one time when his dad was drinking and that's what Joey had said it was. Come to think of it, Mr. Hisoka was walking in a staggering manner. Yugi thought he might be able to take advantage of this but he feared he wasn't strong enough.

"Stop, don't hurt him anymore. Don't hurt him. I'll do anything, just promise not to hurt him." Yugi felt helpless. He wasn't strong enough to help his best friend, and his best friend wasn't strong enough to help himself.

"Anything?" The words dripped off his tongue like the blood dripping off his knife.

Yugi hung his head, resigning himself to his fate, "Anything."

"No, Yug, you don't need to do this for me…I'll be okay…You'll be…I promis-" Joey feebly reached a hand out and gripped Yugi's pant leg, but it soon lost all strength and slipped off when his body, overcome by loss of blood, fell into unconsciousness.

The next thing Joey knew, the engine on a car was being started. He looked around, disoriented. He was sitting in the back seat of a car, Yugi was next to him and Mr. Hisoka was driving. Joey looked over at Yugi, who was not sitting properly in the seat but curled up in a tight ball with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He was crying, holding back sobs but still letting the tears roll down his face.

Joey knew what had happened. He didn't need to say anything. He reached out and pulled Yugi's small shaking form to own side, tucking him under his uninjured left side. Yugi glanced up at his blonde friend, his tears slowing for a second, and then buried his face in his side, wrapping his arms around the larger boy. Joey petted Yugi's back silently, moving in a circular motion, trying to comfort him. Neither of them made a sound. That is until Joey thought he needed to say something.

"I'm sorry, Yugi. I promised that I'd keep him from doing that to you again…but I failed." Here he was again, letting his friends get hurt when he had promised them they wouldn't be.

"No, Joey. He stabbed you, you couldn't help me. It's okay." He said that, but he didn't look up at Joey, just kept his face buried in his jacket.

"But I shoulds have been able to, to be stronger." Joey started to cry now, gripping Yugi so tightly that he squirmed in discomfort.

"We both should have been stronger," Yugi said, disgusted at his own inability to help himself.

Joey didn't know what to say to that so he changed the subject entirely. "Where are we going?" It was dark outside and all he could see was snow falling.

"I don't know. He muttered something about us knowing too much and picked you up and herded me to his car." Yugi had a terrible feeling about this and felt they wouldn't live through the night.

They stopped, Mr. Hisoka getting out and opening Joey's door then grabbing him none to gently by the arms and throwing him into the snow. Joey let out a scream of pain as the motion reopened his wound. Yugi was thrown out beside him and without saying anything, without even looking back, Mr. Hisoka drove away leaving them in the blowing, bitterly cold snow.


	4. Chapter 4

Yugi stared after the car as its red taillights disappeared into the blowing snow, heading towards the distance lights of Domino City. He was shocked and unable to move for a few moments until he remembered Joey and rushed to his side.

Joey was sprawled out on the snow, moaning softly. The snow around his wound had turned red and the amount of red was growing at an alarming rate. Yugi didn't know what to do; he hadn't really been paying attention in first-aid class. He knew he had to stop the bleeding, but he didn't know how. The only things he had to work with were their clothes. He ripped the left sleeve of his uniform jacket off and tied it tightly around Joey's shoulder. It did help to slow the flow of blood, but he needed more help than that.

It was getting steadily colder by the minute, in no time they'd freeze to death. They had no kind of shelter at all, only each other. Yugi leaned over the blonde boy, trying to hold back crying to keep the tears from freezing on his face. "Joey, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I wasn't so stupid…"

Joey blinked a few times before opening his brown eyes; he'd been knocked out for a short time from the pain of getting thrown and his shoulder wound reopening. He reached a cold, pale, hand up to brush the blonde bangs from Yugi's distressed face. "Oh shut up. There's no point in blaming anyone now, now is there? We're both going to die anyway…" The hand flopped back down to the icy ground.

"No, Joey, no! Don't give up! We're not going to die! We're not!" Yugi gripped Joey's shirt, desperate to have the old, goofily cheerful Joey back.

"Is there really any hope of us getting out of this? We're in the middle of nowhere. And it's so cold, so, so, cold…" He shivered violently, hugging himself. "Tell Yami that I…" He didn't finish the thought, his body going limp and his head rolling to the side.

"Joey! Joey! Nooo, don't give up! Wake up!" Yugi shook the boy, getting more violent when he didn't respond. When he stopped and sat still in the cold snow he wondered what Joey had wanted to tell Yami. He decided it was worth a try and slipped inside the Puzzle.

Yami was there, he had been in there since Joey had tried to get him to tell him why he had those bruises. He'd been silently watching the whole thing, and a feeling of great helplessness was creeping over him. Mr. Hisoka had gotten his hands on Yugi and raped him. Yami had tried so hard to protect Yugi from that, taking it himself, but he was helpless to do anything when it did happen.

Yugi approached him. 'Yami, I…I think Joey wants to tell you something.'

Yami was silent.

'Please, Yami, please. We're all about to freeze, to die.'

Yami stared at the cold, stone walls of the Puzzle. 'What can I do? I cannot even protect you, my soul partner.'

'Yami, come on, please. This will probably be the last time you get to see him.' He was pleading now, why was Yami so unresponsive?

Yami glanced over at Yugi, and then silently went outside of the Puzzle. He gasped at the sudden onslaught of frigid air that hit him. He looked around; there was nothing but snow, snow as far as the eye could see; and Joey, still unmoving on the ground. Yami moved closer to him. The wind had blown his hair over his face and Yami brushed the golden locks away, looking at his face. Joey looked oddly peaceful and for a heart stopping moment Yami feared he had died already.

But Yami could feel Joey's warm breath on his own cold hands. Yami crawled on top of the larger boy, pressing himself close to share body heat. Joey groaned a little and stirred slightly but didn't wake up. Yami remember when, several weeks back, Joey had suddenly kissed him. He hadn't entirely disliked the experience; it just reminded him far too much of what their teacher had done to him. He loved Joey, he thought as just a friend, but…

Yami locked lips with Joey, enjoying the flow of warmth that filled his body for that moment. He held the contact for a long moment, only releasing it when he needed to breathe. He looked down, seeing that Joey was wide awake now, staring at him with wide, confused eyes. "Did you just…?"

Yami smirked. "And what if I did?" His smug expression was wiped of his face as a gust of wind threw snow in his face. It brought him back to the reality of their situation.

"Oh my, taking advantage of me while I can't move? How rude." Joey smirked back, joking. "I…I'm sorry about kissing you, back at your house, without your permission. Wow, it seems like forever since that happened, doesn't it? Guess it hasn't really been that long though."

"I forgive you, Joey. I was…just very upset. Not about you, but…" He looked away, not wanting to talk about Mr. Hisoka.

"I know. I get ya, man." Joey was silent for a moment and then, "So can I get another kiss? That felt so warm…"

"You greedy little bastard." But despite saying that, Yami leaned down and kissed him again.

They stayed that way for some time, pressed together and exchanging kisses, until the cold started to really sink in. They were both shivering, trying to keep each other's spirits up by joking around, but it didn't work. They were about to give up all hope of making it through the long, cold night.


End file.
